Arnavut Cigeri
Arnavut Cigeri (or Albanian Liver) is a Turkish Liver dish consisting of pan-fried lamb or veal liver cubes seasoned with flaked chilli and served with sumac, onion and parsley salad.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 370kcal
Equipment
- 1 kitchen scale
- 1 measuring spoons
- 1 Sharp knife
- 1 frying pan
- 1 Measuring cups
Ingredients
For the Onion Salad
- 1 small red onion (thinly sliced)
- 2 tablespoon parsley (finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- ½ teaspoon flaked chilli (pul biber)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Liver
- 1 ⅛ lbs calves or lamb liver (500 grams)
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup plain white flour / all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- vegetable or sunflower oil for frying
Vegetables To Serve With
- 1 ⅛ lbs diced potatoes (500 grams)
- 4 Turkish green peppers (or 1 green bell pepper) (roughly sliced)
- vegetable or sunflower oil for frying
Instructions
Preparing the Onion Salad
- Slice the red onion and rub it with 1 teaspoon salt to soften and make it more palatable. Place it in a bowl.
- Add the chopped parsley, ground sumac and flaked chilli (pul biber), and combine well.
- Set the salad aside and proceed with preparing the vegetables.
Preparing the vegetables
- Peel and cut the potatoes into ½" (1½ cm) cubes.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and add the potatoes.
- Fry them until golden and crispy and remove them to a plate with a slotted spoon. Do it in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
- Add the peppers to the same pan and fry them for a few minutes, until slightly softened.
- Remove the peppers to the same plate as the potatoes with a slotted spoon and start preparing the liver.
Preparing the Liver
- Clean the liver, removing the membrane and any gristly bits.
- Cut them into cubes, spread them on a paper towel, and then sprinkle on the vinegar
- Combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt and spread it on a plate.
- Toss the cubed liver pieces into the flour mixture, making sure they all have a light coating of the flour mixture.
- Heat the oil in a pan on high heat, and add floured liver cubes.
- Gently arrange with a wooden spoon, so all are in contact with the oil evenly. Do it in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
- Cook for a couple of minutes on each side, until they are crispy and browned outside but soft and moist inside.
- Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on a kitchen paper towel.
- Serve immediately on a bed of fried potato cubes and peppers and garnish with red onion & sumac salad.
Notes
- This recipe makes 4 portions when served as a starter/meze and 2 portions as a main meal.
- Don't be tempted to wash your livers before cooking. Use a paper towel to get rid of the blood if there is any.
- Peel the outer skin of the liver and get rid of the gristly/veiny bits before cooking it.
- Stir fry the liver pieces on high heat quickly for a few minutes on each side. This step is necessary to ensure that they brown slightly and get crispy outside but stays moist and soft inside.
- Make sure you have your red onion, parsley, and sumac salad ready along with the fried cubed potatoes and peppers before cooking the liver.
- Fry the potatoes in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
- Nicely coat the cubed liver pieces with the flour mixture and get rid of excess flour before frying them.
Nutrition
Calories: 370kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 426mg | Sodium: 980mg | Potassium: 1211mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 50511IU | Vitamin C: 126mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 10mg